After being called divisive and judgmental I decided it would be a wise thing to read scripture and pray about these issues.

My study group is in Matthew right now and what passage did we talk about? Judging Others. Matthew 7: 1-6. How timely!

First though, let’s take a look at society today. It seems that “tolerance” is the word of the day, and that all are seeking love, peace and unity. Yes, these are fine things up to a point. My breaking point is when those yearning for love and tolerance begin to change the gospel. My breaking point is when a pastor stands on the pulpit and tells me Revelation is no longer relevant.

Judge Not. Does this mean that a Christian cannot express views or opinions? No, it does not. Does “judge not”, mean that Christians should allow all false doctine to go unchallenged. Absolutely not. But…we are not to judge another’s character, and we are not to condemn another. Jesus tell us that when we see a speck in our brother’s eye, to first remove the plank from our own eye. But notice He does not stop at the plank in our own eye. We have to admit our own sin and bias first, then through God’s vision, not our own, we can then proceed. Only God can judge a man’s heart. To say that one can, is indeed self-righteous. However, we are still to use discernment between what is true and false and Jesus warns of false doctine and prophets in Matthew 7, as we continue on in this chapter.

Matthew 7:13-14

What is it that we are hearing today? There are many roads to God. Jesus warned that we are not to follow the crowd. The crowd is headed for the wide gate and the roads to this gate are many. Jesus tell us “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Only a few? Yes, it says only a few…This is so opposite of what we are hearing from the Latter Rain folks. They say that there is going to be harvest of a billion souls for Christ in the end times. What? A billion? The Bible doesn’t say this. Is a billion a few? Can you see that we have to discern the truth by what the Word of God says? Do you think what I just proposed is divisive? It is. It divides the truth from the lies.

Matthew 7:15

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you as in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”

Jeremiah 6:14

“They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. Peace, peace, they say, when there is no peace”

Jesus is warning us against deceptions and delusions here. Not all who profess to be Christians are truly so. Jesus states that many so-called prophets are false in God’s sight.

Does Satan appear to us with a pitchfork and with flames leaping from his mouth? No. He appears mild as a sheep, within the church, speaking calm words. False prophets minimize the sin of the people by applying a soothing balm and avoiding issues like the Wrath of God on Judgment Day.

Matthew 7:22-23

“Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

Many in the church today profess knowledge of the scripture, say biblical phrases and do works, but the Lord says some are evildoers. This really is a frightening scenerio. How do we tell the difference from a false prophet and a true prophet? We cannot see men’s heart like God can. This is one reason why we cannot judge someone. So what do we do? We abstain from following the words of men. We must study God’s word on our own and pray that truth and discernment will be given us. Also we are told to discern their fruit. So be a fruit inspector. It is biblical.

False prophets, false teachers and their followers, do not want others to use discernment…they do not want their words scrutinized. Even my words should be scrutinized and compared to the Word of God. I don’t mind. I welcome it. I am also learning and praying for the Lord to teach and instruct me in His ways.

Matthew 7:24

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

Matthew 7:26

“But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”

This is not the entire passage but it is known as the scripture that tells us to build on the rock of Jesus Christ. While this is very true what is overlooked is “what” Jesus is telling us to put into practice. Jesus is definitely our foundation but He is telling us that after hearing His words we must put them into practice. What good is the Word of God if we do not learn it, and hold it dear to our hearts? So what is our instruction?

Judge not.

Remove your sin or bias first before helping others.

Do not follow men for they may walk the broad path to the wide gate which leads to destruction.

Beware of false prophets wearing sheeps clothing.

Watch those who appear righteous, they may be evildoers.

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Those who put these words into practice will protect themselves from destruction and deception.

Discernment is necessary in these times to recognize false teachings, apostasy, and spiritual conterfeits. We need the gifts of discernment and wisdom in these times of deception, so pray and ask the Lord for them. Committment is also needed to continuously study the Word of God and remain in prayer.

Those of us who create blogs and websites about apostasy, apologetics, heresies, discernment, or deception do so out of alarm of what we are seeing in our churches. We also do it because we love the Lord Jesus Christ. When I came back to the Lord and started going to church again, I was shocked to find out how much times had changed. Christian yoga, labryinths inside the churches, eastern meditation, no more need to bring your Bible, 10 minute sermons, quick services as to not interfere with the football game, Harry Potter books, and messages of inspiration but never conviction or sin. It was conviction of my sin that brought me back to the Lord. When the realization hit that time was short before the return of the Lord, I knew that I would fall short and was headed for destruction.

I have heard and read so much about counterfeit spirituality lately that my head spins. There is a false spirit being introduced into the church. It a spirit spouting love..peace..unity…light. Satan comes as a light. This same light comes from meditation. If you are experiencing joy and never any conviction of your sin, you should wonder why.

Do you possess the “attitudes of the Beatitudes”? Do you recognize how poor in spirit we truly are? Do you mourn over your sin? Do you literally hunger and thirst for righteouness, asking Jesus to expose your sin to yourself for correction? Are you merciful to others? Are you pure in heart, seeking only the Lord and not material things? Do you promote peace as it depends on you? Are you being persecuted for Christ’s sake? These are the attributes of Gods children.

If you truly are filled with the Holy Spirit then you will no longer tolerate sin in your life. When you read the Word of God then you will be convicted of your sin, which causes repentence. Then you will have the freedom that is in Christ.

So am I being divisive? I want to continue to divide deception and the truth. Am I judging others? I hope to be testing the fruit or the result of what one believes. If you feel that I am judging you personally, please forgive me. I only want to discern the truth and I wish this for others. God will be your judge not me. The Day of Wrath is coming. Are you ready?

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Ephesians 1:8
the believer is to understand “what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints”.

The commentary notes: “The idea is not of our inheritance in the Lord, but in His inheritance in us. We often have only a superficial understanding of how precious we are to God.”

Zephaniah 3:17
“He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

…and a portion of the passage I was studying…
Isaiah 62:4-5
“You shall no longer be termed Forsaken,
nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah;
for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.
For as a young man marries a virgin,
so shall your sons marry you;
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.”

Fear not! The Lord knows your love for Him and your desire to do His work and His will. Keep the Sabbath, and rest for awhile in His love. The work will still be here for you to do on Monday morning.

We were studying in Matthew 7 about false prophets this morning in Sunday School and also Matthew 13 about the wheat and tares. Our church is part of the PCUSA and we always get into discussions about whether we should pull out of the denomination or try to make a difference. Most are willing to stay in until we get thrown out. Our local church is not popular with the denomination since we don’t give them money and are vocal about not following the falsehoods they are promoting.

Zoe — Join the club! I’m in the same boat with both my church (Episcopal) and the church I work for (PCUSA).

“Most are willing to stay in until we get thrown out. Our local church is not popular with the denomination since we don’t give them money and are vocal about not following the falsehoods they are promoting.”

Boy does that sound familiar! So far our Presbyterians are doing OK because we have a relatively conservative Presbytery (relative to what is a scary thought). Our Episcopalians, the entire diocese, just voted out of the ECUSA last week.

I truly believe these are the days to stand and be counted… and to keep our churches and pastors covered in prayer.

Don’t woory. You may be thrown out of a church, but God will never throw you away for money. Take the example of Jesus throwing out the moneyhounds in the Temple. Who’s wrong? Certainly not you. Your reward will come in the end – and they will be watching you get it.

My husband and I have been called divisive and judgmental and anti everything. We have spoken against Purpose-Driven, Jabez, women pastors, and now the Emergent Church. We are compelled to stand for the truth of God’s Word – actually it would be far easier to go with the flow like most confessing Christians do.

I take comfort in the fact that it is Him who we are trying to please, we are not trying to please men. It is going to get more and more difficult for the remnant, the true believers who have a love of the truth, in these days of deception and falling away. Our hope it that Jesus is coming!